we are: London

It may seem a little late in the month to be making predictions, but cautious times call for cautious thinking.

This should be pretty simple as nothing here is new, just either ready to get traction or being pushed by the right people:

1. Video on Demand finally gets in to peoples homes for real
2. Video on Demand gets a new name
3. Interactive TV advertising
4. BT Vision moves from Microsoft to open platforms
5. DRM free VOD
6. Mobile web (too obvious? Read more below)
7. Nokia Tube turns out not to be an iPhone beater
8. iPhone Nano (I’d buy one, wouldn’t you?)
9. Mac tablet (big iPhone)
10. No one buys Twitter

Mostly web and mobile, but hey that’s what’s selling now, what customers and businesses want and what I like.

2009 will see a lot of e-commerce sites close, merge and hopefully improve.

The mobile web will really take off, in fact I have a feeling mobile specialists will see a huge rise in work. Mostly due to the fact that for the first time developing for mobile is cheaper than developing for PCs. Those not launching commercial propositions will certainly be launching trials.

Other than that, I am certain Apple’s place as the best technology company will begin to shake, through rushed products, lower perceived value for money (no VGA adapter with yet another laptop plug format) and a cut in customer services.

Uncategorized e-commerce, Interactive TV, Internet, iphone, Mobile, usability

80% of your marketing budget is wasted as only about 20% of your site traffic finds their way through to their destination on their first visit.

That’s a staggering amount of wasted money when you think of it like that, which means either big problems or bigger opportunities.

Am I suffering mass revenue loss?

Here are a few, simple checks to find out if you need conversion management:

1. Do you spend money on marketing?
2. Do you convert over 50% of your visitors to customers?
3. Do you act on your website statistics?
4. Does testing new designs take more than 2 days?
5. Would you like to know how successful content, design and ad changes are?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above then you need a predictive, behavioral content optimisation engine on your site.

Find out how we can turn this figure around for you, visit www.cadinteractive.com/lost

Uncategorized Internet, Predictive, usability

Having just got used to the UI of the nokia comes with music service it’s just broken. Says the pc can’t be registered and the phone is not recognized, oh joy.

Just to add insult to audio injury the message tells me that if I enter my code it will loose 334 days of account access.

So don’t sell your Apple shares just yet.

Uncategorized usability

It’s phone time again, seems this is the only thing occupying my life at the moment.
Having just made a pilgrimage to the world’s best shopping experience, Westfield, I sought out Vodafone for a demo of the Storm.

Now I am not a Blackberry user, so all those who are fans please comment and show me the light. However, I am a touch screen convert and have been ever since my Sony Ericsson P800, P900 and M600 love affair.

The key feature of the Storm is it’s haptic feedback touch screen, or to you and me, press and click. The idea is that you press once to highlight a feature, icon, number, etc and then press a second time to make it happen, sort of double click for your digits.

But the whole screen moves, rather than individual areas, which was what I read before launch, so it just feels a bit broken.

Then when you really get going with it you find it’s no better than any other touch screen, iPhone included, because you have to look at the buttons you are pressing rather than the word you are typing and as any 12 year old will tell you, it ‘aint as easy as an old school phone as you can do that by feel.

It’s a bit big and a bit brash, almost feels like a set of red braces on a 90’s banker. If you like Blackberry and don’t want an iPhone then I am certain this is for you, but an iPhone killer it is not.

Oh and a word of warning, don’t try to jump to the home screen in the usual way, click home, end call, etc, as this just minimises the applications, which in turn kills the battery and if too many apps are left open, craches the phone; at least that’s what the guy at Vodafone told me, I quote “you can’t expect stupid people to use it can you”.

Why not get CADinteractive to test your concepts with real users before they hit the market?

Uncategorized Mobile, usability

Been there, done that and bought the iPhone. I am not saying it’s a bad idea, it’s just a bit
backroom, Heath Robinson, homemade.

For £40 a month I get something akin to an old PDA with unix that I can make a few calls on and build my own apps; seems like a lot of cash when for the same price I can get a free iPhone.

It is utterly uninspiring even if it reacts faster than a fast thing and makes the iPhone feel slow, bottom line is, you’re not going to get asked how good it is down the pub, unless you drink with a bunch of java developers.

If you want to be alternative, use a pay phone, if you want a touch screen phone get an Apple.

Uncategorized Mobile, usability

Am I becoming obsessed the iPhone? Well its just got worse, you can get a 7 day tv guide which not only allows you to search but also set your Sky+ box to record remotely.
I’ve set my box to record every episode of Top Gear ever broadcast, from the comfort of my hotel room in Abu Dhabi.
It’s got a great UI and it’s been designed to be 100% functional, so a bit dull but hey, who’s going to be showing their mates down the pub how their new iPhone app works???????

Uncategorized Interactive TV, iphone, usability

In the pub, Shailen mentions a great book called The Perfect Pitch; and having just spent an hour in a 30c room at one of the the UK’s top companies, quite frankly getting a grilling, I thought I had to have it.

So, out comes the iPhone 3G, battery still alive, and I search Google for the book. Top of the search is Amazon and I bought it within three clicks through their iPhone friendly pages.

The point of this seemingly obvious chat is that companies like Amazon are out there pushing real services, through new channels without having huge launch campaigns, keeping happy customers, happy.

The route to success it seems is trialling services quickly, with real users, without shouting about it, until it’s working.

How good is your Customer Experience Strategy?

Uncategorized e-commerce, iphone, Mobile, usability

This week CADinteractive and a brave crew (Team CAD) took to the sea for the ABC sailing cup, with a fantastic result; the sun shone for both days.
Our crew, skipper, 1st mate and boat set out at blistering speed to a day of no wind, followed by another day of no wind, but who cares, the crew’s spirits were high and everyone got on famously.
Due to a late start on day two, thanks Paul, all was looking grim as we departed just as the race was about to start, however, we were able to motor all the way to the start, which turned out to be a great help as there was only 2 knots of wind.
At one stage the excitement peaked, sending Nigel and Rich over the edge, into the drink.
Our final position on the leader board is not important, which is good, as it’s all about the taking part.
Finally, a great evening was had on HMS Warrior with a charity auction in aid of Helen & Douglas House which is an amazing charity well worth supporting and saw the team CAD walking away with more than their share of auction picks.

Full photos can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8126925@N05/sets/72157607415670965/

Uncategorized

I’ve been flying to the Middle East a lot over the past 6 months and my airline of choice is Etihad.
Why? Because I have become accustomed to the way they do things, even their consistency, and because of that I struggle with BA and Emirates.

Their key successes are friendly service, new planes and VOD; beds in business class help too. Whereas BA and Emirates planes vary so greatly in seats, staff and entertainment that it’s just not worth booking with them, it’s a travel lottery.

So a relative minnow has stolen the lead on airlines that I was very loyal too and this, in a strange way, is exactly what will happen online over the next couple of years.

Businesses need to be on top of their game in the current market and they need to maintain their lead throughout to ensure their success.
A quick relaunch or redesign will not be enough to stay ahead, and as competition hots up for dwindling sales, smaller more agile businesses may just come out on top. Not because they are cheaper, but because they are easier to use, quicker to navigate and more likely to build a repoire with a loyal customer.

Through our resent work on user centred design and broad spectrum research, we have found that a small, regular spend on usability improvements through an agile process, ensures a competitive edge without large budgets.

A number of leading businesses are also employing a more integrated approach through the development and implementation of a customer experience strategy. These can turn statistics and MIS into actionable and more importantly implementable changes.

CADinteractive have been at the forefront of agile UCD development for the past 6 years and have a range of dynamic services that are proven to ensure success. For more information contact Chris Averill +44 207 1991 321

Uncategorized e-commerce, Internet, usability

And for those who read it, yes it should be banned-wagon, as in agencies who are so desperate to get a free app on the iPhone to market their clients products that they forget to make it worth downloading, should be banned.
I’m talking about the Audi A4 driving challenge. It sucks and sadly many iPhone users are potential Audi customers, which I guess is why someone somewhere sold the idea to Audi.

Download the Carling iPint, just to have an electronic glass fill up, let alone play the game, which is not bad at all. Hats off to Beattie McGuinness Bungay who have created a virtual masterpiece.

Boo to whoever Kris Collins is and Audi of America Inc.

Uncategorized